Royal Enfield starts retail operations in Thailand

New Delhi: Homegrown niche bike maker Royal Enfield has launched retail operations in Thailand with the opening of its first store in the country.

Royal Enfield

The company will sell its complete range of motorcycles, apparel and accessories in its first exclusive store in Thonglor, Bangkok, Royal Enfield said in a statement.

Besides the opening of the showroom, the company also announced prices of its models to be sold in Thailand, ranging from THB 1,79,800 for the Bullet 500 to THB 2,19,800 for the Royal Enfield Continental GT 535cc café racer. Royal Enfield International Business Head Arun Gopal said: "We believe that our future growth will come from our international markets such as Thailand where motorcycles are a popular medium of commuting."

He further said that the company's "phenomenal success in India gives us the confidence to thrive in similar markets like Thailand and Indonesia, which will play an instrumental role in fuelling our growth in Asia".

"We believe that once we are successful in Bangkok, our brand and products will resonate very well in other key Thailand cities as well," Gopal said. "We see a huge potential for our evocative, all purpose, and middle-weight (250-750cc) motorcycles that will allow customers an optimum choice for upgrade," he added.

The company's first retail store in Thailand has been set up by General Auto Supply Co Ltd. Royal Enfield has been expanding its global retail footprint across the UK, Europe, Latin America, the Middle- East and now in South East Asia as part of its strategy to become a leader in global mid-sized motorcycle segment. It had recently launched in Indonesia.

Last year, the company had announced its entry into Thailand, the fifth largest two-wheeler market in the world. "As part of our international strategy, we are focused on building the brand and creating demand in nodal cities across the world such as London, Bogota, Medellin, Dubai, Madrid, Paris, Jakarta and now Bangkok," Gopal said.

Royal Enfield sales grew by 65 per cent in the April- January period this fiscal to 47,710 units as against 28,927 units in the year-ago period.

Exports had, however, declined by 26 per cent to 570 units as against 770 units in the same period last fiscal.